4 Years After Tragedy, Boy Can Rejoice

Julius Dyke celebrated his fourth birthday Saturday afternoon, a smear of frosting across his tongue placed there by his grandmother.

To family members and friends, he's a miracle. By most accounts, he wasn't supposed to live at all.

"You try coming into this world the way this baby came into this world," said grandmother Margaret Dyke, of Fort Lauderdale. "He came in the roughest way."

Four years ago, he was still in his mother's womb as she slowly died after an attack by a man who repeatedly stabbed her with a knife and tore into her body with his teeth.

Two days after the assault in a Wilton Manors apartment, Lisashante "Lisa" Dyke, 18, gave birth to Julius by Caesarean section. His mother's loss of blood left him with brain damage. Lisa Dyke lived three more weeks. Her killer, Ronnie Keith Williams, was sentenced to death in November and awaits death in the electric chair.

Saturday, however, was a celebration to honor a 29-pound boy who cannot speak, stand or feed himself. His accomplishments are measured by the simplest improvements, such as rolling on his side or lighting up his large brown eyes and moving his lips when his grandmother sings.

"It's so touching," family friend Loris Blakely said. "She's there singing and he tries to sing with her."

As party guests arrived, Julius slept upright in the corner of the living roon, a feeding tube into his stomach hidden under red, yellow, white and blue clothing. At least 50 balloons as big as basketballs floated onto the floor beneath him. A portrait of his mother looked across the room from a gold frame.

"You can see her beauty in his eyes," his grandmother said.

Julius can breathe because of a tracheotomy and now accepts slight bits of applesauce and rice cereal in his mouth.

Margaret Dyke, 42, has raised Julius in her home with her two other children since he was released from the hospital. A state-provided nurse helps care for him half the day. Julius' father, who moved to Alabama soon after Lisa Dyke's death, does not visit.

Margaret Dyke said her husband also left after Julius moved into their house.

Despite the hardships in the Dyke household, family and friends worked to add joy to the birthday party by firing up the outdoor grill for jerk chicken, stewing a pot of curried goat on the kitchen stove and keeping a full cooler of beverages.

The party for Julius was expected to last well into the evening, well after he was put to bed. As many as 50 people were expected throughout the day to honor the boy with best wishes and gifts.

For a grandmother who read the Bible and prayed before tasting her slice of the vanilla birthday cake, there are no gifts more grand than the one she says she already has.